WOOD-WARBLERS

Yellow-breasted Chat, Icteria virens

Family Parulidae (Wood-Warblers)

Size: 7.5"

Season: Summer

Habitat: Dense vegetation, woodland edges

The largest wood-warbler, the Yellow-breasted Chat has a long, rounded tail and a heavy, pointed black bill with a strongly curved culmen. It is uniformly greenish-brown above. Below, the belly and undertail coverts are white, while the chin and breast are bright yellow. The head is dark, with bold white patterning above the lores, at the malar area, and around the eyes, forming white “spectacles.” Females are slightly duller in color. Yellow-breasted Chats forage in low brush for insects and berries, and have quite variable vocalizations, including mimicking the songs of other birds. The male has a strange display behavior in which it hovers and dangles its legs. The adult is illustrated.